Friday, August 22, 2014

Bag a Week: Drawstring Sling Bag

This week's blag-a-bag is an experiment with the following:

drawstring closure

circular base

sling strap

ZOMG IS THERE ANY WAY I CAN DO THIS WITH JUST A SERGER (answer: no, but not for lack of trying)

The circular base bag is something I've been wanting to try for a while. A circle, with a rectangle attached, is the basis of this one. I wanted a drawstring closure, but the top piece was kind of an afterthought; the main fabric has heavyweight stabilizer, so it isn't quite flexible enough to gather properly.

It's been a while since I did a bag with pockets, though. Look. Look down into the inky darkness that is pocket central. Two large pockets (possibly sized for yarn), two pen pockets (always a must), and three other pockets of middling size for various accoutrements.

You can see how I tried very hard to use my serger for this. Normally I attempt to have all my seams enclosed, but I decided not to for this. The sides are a sandwich of fabric and stabilizer, with overlocked edges.

I even tried embroidery thread on the top edge, before I switched to this extra piece for drawstring casing. At the top of this image, you can see where I cover stitched that sucker, for good measure.

Yep.

It's also been a while since I did anything with piping, so I put some in too, though with the bulk of the rest of the fabric, you can hardly see it. Piping would have been better between the main fabric and the drawstring piece, but c'est la vie.

Pro tip: hand baste when you're adding piping, and you have more control over where it gets sewn, without having to fiddle with pins.

Pro tip #2: use a zipper foot to attach piping.

Here I am! I think I will stay away from the runway, but this is the approximate size comparison. The drawstring is actually handles upcycled from a fancy shopping bag.